The toilet graveyard

This is where I hang out in my spare time.

The UK's largest holder of new and salvaged bathroom suites.... phwoar.

Art in Translation, CityLit jewellery alumni exhibition.

The journey from Flat to Hat.

Section of Eduardo Paolozzi's 1969-70 screenprint Zero Energy Experimental Pile: Will the Future Rulers of the Earth Come from the Ranks of Insects?

In response to the Art in Translation brief, I selected Eduardo Paolozzi as my research basis for some new aluminium hats. A small segment of "Z.E.E.P....." as pictured above forms the inspiration for my work. Z.E.E.P. is actually a composition of 12 of these rectangular frames, each housing disparate graphics and imagery. I find this particular frame magnetic - visually it's relative to many of my aesthetic interests- Memphis, 80s graphics etc. My intent was to 'evolve' the collage in the way that Paolozzi had arrived at the shapes in the first place. Opening back out sections he originally stuck down, new ones are formed by the shadows cast and the negative spaces left behind.

Sketchbook folds

Taking one element of the print, I enlarged it over and over on a photocopier 'till I had several distinct shapes to serve as a foundation.

After copious model-making, I transferred designs to sheet aluminium and began cutting out - anything intricate or curved done by hand but larger parts that were too deep for my saw frame, I took to the scrollsaw.

Filing and sanding nearly did me in and I soon aborted my Health and Safety boycott when I think I got a touch of metal fume fever and whacked a mask on. It turns out, aluminium is impossible to get a good finish on. I sanded up to 1600, soaped and pumiced, tried autosol, silver polish and hyfin, all to a dirty cloudy ugly glare. Hurrah!

To the powder coaters with some of the components to emulate the bolshy colours of the print:

They were all then baked at 200 degrees in an amazing hand-built, walk-in kiln.

I got to watch the coating at close range which was super exciting and even have a little say in the distribution of colour on the mixed pieces.

Finally, the raw aluminium was finished up, the pieces were assembled, invisible headbands wrapped in fabric, some crazy neoprene was attached to a couple of the parts and all components were screwed together with anodised aluminium nuts and bolts.

Here they are:

Ranks of Insects Hat

Experimental Pile Hat 

Zero Energy Hat

All pieces will be on display at CityLit until 17th March 2014

Epoxy resin samples

Resin workshop with  Kathie Murphy at City Lit

Samples in little measuring pots, discarded dessert pots and silicone ice cube trays (any mould made of polypropylene works). Playing about with dye pastes found objects:

Photo courtesy Jo Teague

                                                                                  

DIY silicone mould:

Photo courtesy Jo Teague

Handmade Spectacles

Since March, I have been working on a totally new piece. As my final project for City and Guilds Structured Jewellery level 3, I've made a pair of functional optical frames for prescription lenses, inspired by radio masts.

I have wanted for some time to make an object of function that is worn as the requirements are very different to those that are merely decorative. Primarily, they needed to suit my face and be comfortable - the weight being a significant design concern. Optics seemed at first to be a very closed world. No accessible insights into the tools of the trade/conventions of practice seemed available. I felt my way, frustratedly googling every glasses-making phrase I could conjure. Gradually I found crumbs of knowledge through youtube videos, dissecting existing specs, downloading and reading optical supplies catalogues and searching out jewellers who make glasses (few and far between). I was very grateful initially for the Facebook group 'eyejam', set up by New Zealand based jeweller and self taught spectacle maker Brian Adam for helping demystify the initial principles and protocols in the fabrication of bespoke specs.

There are many options available to the handcrafter looking to fabricate their own frames, glazing labs can work around more tenuous ergonomics than you might expect! I was very lucky to find an independent Optician willing to advise me along the way, thank you graciously to C.E.Hall in Surrey.

After a bit of sketching from some photos I took of radio mast construction, I began testing out related, simple geometric frame shapes on my face. I settled on a half round arched brow line with contrasting cross bar in flat strips of Sterling and Reflections silver. 

   Alport Heights radio mast        Silver frame components

My difficulties came with the side tabs that hold the handmade hinges. These define the pantoscopic tilt of the glasses when worn and also need to provide a solid grounding for the hinge and temple movement. A logistical challenge on paper rendered a logistical nightmare in silversmithing! Keeping the hinge tubes aligned (shown between the brass tabs in the image below) is more complex than I could ever have fathomed and my resultant solution is simply never to make a precisely engineered object with angles on too many planes again!

Soldering the tabs to the silver crossbar

Tapping the hinge rod holes for the temples to screw into

I dealt with the obstacle of connecting steel to brass by threading the steel arms so that they screw into the brass hinge rod and fixing with some loctite. This hasn't proved to be an ideal solution as wear will cause loosening and movement of the temples. Still, it's a nice mechanical feature. 

The specs were furnished with glass nosepads, gunmetal nuts and bolts and rectangles I cut and polished up from a block of pen turning plastic. 

Rear view: Steel arms screw into brass rods held within silver tubes

London Jewellery Week - City Lit Benchpeg Awards

Awards ceremony tonight revealed the three winners. Drumroll............ 

BMV amulet brooch scooped a super duper 2nd prize! Judged by the founder of jewellery oracle Benchpeg and jewellers Wright and Teague, my bronze hand-pierced amulet has taken the second prize amongst the 16 shortlisted students.

The amulet has two sides. Below is the Cypher side. The design is comprised of shapes and squiggles that all mean something, forming a secret language of my own. I have combined my Cyphers here in formation of a grotesque face, to ward off unwanted /ill-tempered human intervention. It has a clip at the top which connects it to the brooch/ a belt/ a chain etc....

The reverse side is more formal, for when you want to keep your spiritual perversions secret:

1st prize was deservingly awarded to my dear friend and true bohemian Brigitte Pividal. Her silver brooch inspired by the battle of the virus and the white blood cell:

And 3rd prize was awarded to Kostantinos Karanikas for a stupendous metal, concrete and pyrite neckplate:

Beasties hatching

I'm scared of spiders. But these are quite sweet really, in formation like a flock of starlings. If I was a bird, however, I'd think: LUNCH.

Crystals

My tubes have grown some appendages! I think this was caused by the bicarb of soda I used to neutralise the pickle....